Money found for third Foothill Freeway sound wall near Meadow Grove neighborhood

Officials discover ways to cut costs, clearing the way for an additional sound deflector.

February 20, 2013|By Tiffany Kelly, tiffany.kelly@latimes.com

One more neighborhood in La Cañada Flintridge is slated to get a little quieter.

Last year, officials announced that construction would begin this year for two sound walls to be placed between homes and the Foothill (210) Freeway, near the Meadow Grove neighborhood and St. Francis High School.

But after engineers looked at ways to cut costs, they found funding for an additional noise blockade.

Construction for all three walls is expected to start in October. Voters in Los Angeles County approved a Measure R transportation tax four years ago, which provides funds for the sound-wall project.

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“It is the same available total fund from Metro that was identified in the beginning of the project for the sound-wall design and construction,” said Edward Hitti, the city's director of Public Works.

The location of the proposed third sound wall starts near the intersection of Curran Street and Indiana Avenue. It's a few hundred feet from Foothill Boulevard, as it passes through the city's “Old Town” district.

Hitti said they decided on this location based on a number of factors, including construction access and cost, environment and utility lines.

Preparation for the first two sound walls is nearly complete, said project manager Terry Kelley, from management consulting firm Anderson Penna.

“We've got some really good engineering estimates,” she said. “We have a pretty good handle on the costs right now.”

All three sound walls will be constructed of brown masonry block, with a design made to look like a distant mountain.